A Whitepaper from Juran Global

The Source for Breakthrough

Performance Improvement

The No. 1 Reason

Why Performance
Improvement
Programs Fail

0
 Juran Global
Our expertise has been developed over more than six decades of real-world experience, and our methods are
universal and have been applied in nearly every industry and culture around the world. We are trusted advisers,
enabling global leaders to achieve measurable, breakthrough results. We provide best-in-class services
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and we are fully committed to our clients and believe that our clients success is our success.

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The No. 1 Reason Why
Performance Improvement Programs Fail
We hear it all too often: Our
company invested a lot of time and
money implementing a performance
improvement program. We adopted a
methodology, trained all our
managers, identified opportunities for
improvement, selected projects, and
assembled project teams. But within
months, most of the teams fizzled out,
and the ones that actually completed
their projects were never able to
sustain the improvements.
Sadly, performance improvement
programs fail more often than anyone
would like, and they fail for a variety of
reasons. But before we give you our
No. 1 reason why performance
improvement programs fail as well
as a number of secondary reasons
lets first define failure.
Performance improvement programs
are, by design, intended to improve
the long-term performance of an
organization. Whether the
organization seeks to reduce costs,
remove waste from business
processes, eliminate sources of
defects and variation, increase quality,
or enhance customer satisfaction, the
idea is to hardwire solutions that
achieve quantifiable goals so that
results are sustained over time.
To that end, performance improve
failures include projects that are never
finished; projects that are completed,
but without improvements being
2 The No. 1 Reason Why Performance Improvement Programs Fail
realized; projects that are completed,
but with improvements that are
insignificant; and projects that are
finished with temporary
improvements, but without any long-
term implementation of the solution.
While there are a myriad of reasons
that cause any of these scenarios to
occur, it has been Juran Globals
experience gleaned over three
decades and thousands of projects
that one reason is dominant over the
others. With that, the No. 1 reason
why performance improvement
programs fail is directly related to lack
of management support.
Lack of Management Support
Management is critical to building a
successful performance improvement
organization, regardless of the
methodology adopted by the
company. It is managements job to
ensure that:
The right projects are selected,
The right people are picked for
project teams,
Performance improvement
methodologies are followed,
Project roles and responsibilities
are clearly defined,
Projects are appropriately
communicated,
Education and training are
supported, and
Management visibly supports
the project team.
 The Right Projects
The success of performance
improvement programs is rooted in
the projects selected. Unfortunately,
many organizations fail to develop
criteria for project solution, which
results in projects that provide no real
benefit to the organization, such as a
project to redesign the flow of the
company parking deck. If employees
arent working on the right projects, it
doesnt matter how well the projects
are run the results just wont make a
difference. Thus, the right projects
should be linked to organizational
strategies, have identifiable and
quantifiable hard results, and be
realistic in scope.
The Right People
Being selected to be on a
performance improvement team
should be viewed as an honor, not a
chore. Because performance
improvement projects are designed to
achieve a sustainable improvement in
the organizations performance,
projects are ideal breeding grounds
for the next generation of leaders. As
such, the right people include those
employees who have demonstrated
leadership skills, problem-solving
skills, and the ability to make a
difference in the organization.
Methodologies
Whether deploying Lean, Six Sigma,
Focus PDSA, or some other
methodology, management must
ensure that the methodology selected
3 The No. 1 Reason Why Performance Improvement Programs Fail
is adhered to and used effectively.
Performance improvement
methodologies have been developed
over decades a real-world use in
dozens of different industries. To
allow project teams to shortcut the
organizations adopted methodology
only serves to tell employees that the
management team is sloppy in its
approach to performance
improvement.
Roles and Responsibilities
Being clear about who is responsible
for what is managements job. This
not only includes the roles and
responsibilities of the members of the
project team, but also those who play
ad hoc roles. To ensure that the roles
and responsibilities of all project
stakeholders are defined, refer to the
acronym RACI.
Responsibility: These are people
who are expected to actively
participate in the project and
contribute to the best of their
abilities.
Accountability: This is the
person who is ultimately held
responsible for the projects
results.
Consultation: These are people
who can provide expertise when
needed, can contribute to
specific decisions, or who must
be consulted before a final
decision is made.
Inform: These are people who
are affected by the project, but
who are not active participants.
 Communications
Poor communications can quickly
derail any project team. If the
immediate supervisors of the projects
team members do not understand the
organizations priorities, then they can
become an obstacle in providing the
team members with the time required
to serve effectively on the team. If
project team members are not clear
on the projects purpose, goals,
boundaries, and expectations, then
the project can quickly get off track
and stay there. And if staff is not
aware of what projects are under way
and why, then theyll likely come to
resent their peers who are serving on
teams, but only seem to be gone
much of the time.
Show a lack of Education and Training
management interest in
the project, and you will Regardless of the methodology
soon discover that the selected by an organization, to be
project team shows a effective in deploying the
lack of interest as well. methodology, there must be an
investment in education and training.
To cobble together an inadequate
training program not only sends
signals that the organization is not
committed to performance
improvement, but it also sets up
everyone for frustration, aggravation,
and failure.
Management Visibility
It is alarming how often we hear about
executives who are named project
champions, only to rarely if ever
show up for meetings, ask for
updates, or show any real interest in
4 The No. 1 Reason Why Performance Improvement Programs Fail
the project at all. If you want
performance improvement to be seen
as a strategic imperative, then you
must treat it like a strategic
imperative. An executives mere
attendance at a project meeting tells
everyone present that the project is of
the utmost importance and a high
organizational priority. Show a lack of
management interest in the project,
and you will soon discover that the
project team shows a lack of interest
as well.
Other Reasons Why
Performance Improvement Fails
Project Scope is Too Large
All too often, organizations bite off
more than they can swallow. We call
this the boiling the ocean
phenomenon when an ambitious
executive believes that just because
the organizations passion for
performance improvement burns hot,
the organization can boil the ocean in
just a couple of months. Instead, what
they discover is that the flame is
doused long before the waters
temperature is even raised. To make
sure this doesnt happen to you,
follow the SMART criteria:
Specific: Target a specific area
for improvement
Measurable: Quantify an
indicator of progress
Assignable: Specify who is
ultimately responsible
Realistic: State what results can
be achieved, given available
resources
Time-Bound: Specify when the
results can be achieved
 Poor Project Selection
While this is a failure of management,
poor project selection occurs
frequently enough that we included it
as a failure mode of its own. To ensure
that the projects selected by your
organization have strategic
importance, it is important to develop
criteria to be used during the project
evaluation and selection process.
Criteria falls into two categories:
Must criteria and Want criteria.
Must criteria are yes/no
considerations. Either the project
meets the threshold of the Must
criteria or it doesnt. Only those
projects that get a yes on all of the
Must criteria are considered further.
Want criteria are highly subjective,
and the organization should establish
some type of rating system to ensure
continuity among those selecting
projects. Both Must and Want criteria
include four categories.

Measurable: Many times executives do not have a lot of data to determine how
bad a problem really is. However, they know enough about the problem to
determine if it is measurable or not. Measurability refers to whether the defect is
identified and can be measured. Some problems that are not measurable are not
solvable.
Observable: The project should correct a continuing problem, not a recent specific
episode.
Manageable: Most projects should take no more than six months to complete.
Projects that would probably take longer should be divided into smaller projects
likely to yield results more quickly.
Significant: When a project is completed, results should indicate the effort was
worthwhile. A great project is one that gains dollar savings and improves customer
satisfaction at the same time. What determines significance is defined by your
organization.

Impact on Targets: This is a measure of impact on the organizations dashboard or

balanced scorecard. Measures should indicate the projects potential impact to
retain and attract new customers, reduce the costs of poor quality, provide a return
on investment, and enhance customer and staff satisfaction.
Urgent: Typically, urgent projects address performance problems in core services,
problems that make the organization highly vulnerable to the competition, or
issues that are crucial to key customers.
Risk Free: If there are known or suspected risks, the problem is likely to take a long
time to complete or have an uncertain outcome. However, if the expected pay-off
is high, the project may be worthwhile.
Little Resistance: Among potential projects which are equal in other criteria, the
project likely to meet the least resistance is usually the best choice.
Solution Not Implemented

5 The No. 1 Reason Why Performance Improvement Programs Fail

 Solution Not Implemented
This often occurs when the owner of
the process that is the focus of the
project is not involved in the project,
or simply refuses to get on board. But
thats not the only risk. If there is a
project handoff because of a change
in project leadership, a fundamental
change in the project teams
composition, or competing
implementation schedules, the
chances that implementation will fizzle
increase. Telltale signs that
implementation might be in jeopardy
include:
Minimal input, active
resistance, or no signoff by
the process owner.
Reassignment of the projects
champion, sponsor, or team
leaders.
Other projects that are
implementing solutions that
overlap with functional areas
being impacted by your
project.
6 The No. 1 Reason Why Performance Improvement Programs Fail
Putting the Odds In Your Favor
The Juran Transformation
Roadmap is a time-tested framework
to effectively transform your culture
and sustain desired change be it a
new company vision, creating a Lean
enterprise, reducing cost, improving
business processes, developing a
culture of continuous improvement, or
hardwiring the continued pursuit of
operational excellence. We have
identified five phases that all
organizations must complete to sustain
the gains of enterprise-wide change.
To learn more about the five phases
and the Juran Transformation
Roadmap, contact us at:
Juran Global
100 City Hall Plaza
Boston, MA 02108
800.338.7726
info@juran.com
http://www.juran.com/contact-us
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